Welcome

This website is now an archive of the restoration and should only be used as a resource. Please visit the Lion Salt Works website for the most up-to-date information.

Welcome to the Lion Salt Works blog

The Lion Salt Works is a historic brine salt making site that is being restored and transformed into a unique heritage attraction. Led by Cheshire West and Chester Council, this £8million project will see the site reborn as a fascinating destination for tourists, day visitors and families and a valued resource for local communities, businesses and heritage interest groups.

Located in the village of Marston, close to the town of Northwich, the site lies adjacent to the Trent and Mersey Canal and is close to the historic Anderton Boat Lift. A substantial part of the site is a Scheduled Monument.

Restoration work has now started on the site, with an expected opening in spring 2015. The Lion Salt Works is currently closed to the public.

Wednesday, 31 July 2013

The restoration of the Lion Salt Works has seen considerable progress in the last two months.

Pan House 3 and 4

The timber roofs of Pan House 3 and 4 have been completed.

New walls have been constructed for Pan House 4 where they
had been destroyed by fire.

The old roofs of asbestos had to be removed. These have been
replaced with a new material design to replicate the look of the original
roofs.

New steel footings have been added to the existing wooden
columns.

The ditches that allowed brine to drain from the wooden
hurdles along the sides of the pan have been re-laid.

Stove House 3 and 4

Concrete foundations have been laid to support a new steel
framework.

The new steel frame has been inserted in the drying level
below the warehouse of Stove House 3. This compliments the original cast-iron
columns and reused railway lines that used to support the floor above.

The roof framework of Stove House 4 was built of metal. It
has been entirely stripped of roof panels and then abrasively cleaned and
painted ready for repair.

Stove House 1 (the
Link Block)

The remains of Stove House 1 were precarious as it had collapsed
over ten years ago in 2002. These remains have been dismantled to make this
area safe for visitors.

Stove House 5

The Stove House has begun to take the shape of its original
form.

The framework of steel has been filled with blocks and
brickwork reclaimed from the original stove house dismantled in 2009.

The original timber framework of the roof, stored for 3
years has been reassembled and built in the upper part of the building, replicating
the original design.